Mavic

XA Pro 27.5in Boost Wheelset

Occupying the middle ground in Mavic's line of trail-worthy hoops, the XA Pro 27.5in Boost Wheelset provides significant weight savings over its cheaper XA sibling, but without draining all your funds like the pricier XA Pro Carbon Wheelset. In fact, you'll find the XA Pro 27.5in Boost Wheelset tips the scales at only 1610 grams, which is pretty darn light considering it's made of Maxtal alloy and not carbon. In comparison, the cheaper XA 27.5in Wheels weigh significantly more at 1815 grams and the pricier XA Pro Carbon 27.5in Wheels tip the scales at a paltry 1550 grams, albeit with a significant hike in cost. This particular version is for BOOST axles only, which provides greater stiffness over traditional wheels, as the wider hub spacing translates to a spoke bracing angle that's far more resilient to torsional forces.

Mavic achieves the significant weight reduction from their ISM 4D (Inter Spoke Milling) machining process, which reduces the rim wall's thickness between each spoke for lower rotational inertia. You'd think this would sacrifice strength, but it remains robust enough for everyday trail rides with lots of rocks and roots, as the rim-to-spoke connection zone—the area receiving most of the energy from airborne landings and rock strikes—is thicker to deflect harsh incoming forces. And speaking of the spokes, you'll find 24 straight-pull, bladed Zicral spokes at front and rear for the lateral stiffness needed to accelerate quickly and hold its line across rocky terrain.

As you'd expect from a trail wheel of this pedigree, its UST Tubeless rim design allows you to run your favorite tubeless tires straight from the box without deforming them into an overly bulbous or squared-off shape. The XA Pro's 25-millimeter internal width is ideal for your everyday trail tire in the neighborhood of 2.2 to 2.3 inches (give or take a few tenths of an inch), so you'll have an optimal blend of rolling speed and all-out grip. It's rounded out with Mavic's ITS-4 freehub with 4 pawls for quick engagement when you're muscling up and over trail obstacles.